Anyone who would like to invest in Russia’s most successful search engine may want to start saving pennies and talking to his (or her) stockbroker. Reports indicate that Yandex, which has had little trouble fending off Google in its home market, will go public and try to raise $1 billion this summer.
A post on the Quintura Blog stated today, "The leading Russian search engine and contextual advertising company, Yandex plans $1 billion IPO on NASDAQ in June – July 2011, reported newspaper Vedomosti. The company hired investment banks Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to manage the IPO."
It’s possible a serious rush will result. Yandex’s search engine has a market share of about 64 percent, which is seriously impressive given the competition.
Yandex’s finances aren’t in bad shape, either, considering that the company reported a 43 percent increase in revenue between 2009 and 2010.
Then there’s the simple fact that the move’s well timed in relation to the overall economy, since investors are starting to take their money out from underneath their mattresses once again.
It should be interesting to see what happens. Unfortunately, no additional details are available at this time.